road.cc Superbike of the Year 2016-17

Posted by
http://road.cc/content/feature/214926-roadcc-superbike-year-2016-17
on January 18, 2017

The road.cc Superbike of the
Year 2016-17 is the Bianchi Oltre XR4, a lightweight race bike that puts
in a superb performance. It's agile and mega-stiff with pin-sharp
handling, and it's comfortable enough that you can thoroughly enjoy long
rides rather than counting down the miles until it's time to get off.

The Oltre XR4 is the latest Bianchi model to get Countervail
technology, Countervail being a viscoelastic material that’s embedded
within the carbon-fibre structure of the frame and fork. The idea is to
cancel vibration while increasing stiffness and strength.

We can’t say for certain how much influence the Countervail has
outside the lab and on the road but we can tell you that the Oltre
offers a ride with a marked absence of vibration. Everyone who rode our
review bike said the same thing unprompted. There's just a bit less
flutter than usual coming though the contact points.

Bianchi has updated the shapes of the frame tubes over those of the
Oltre XR2 as a result of CFD (computational fluid dynamics) and flow
visualisation. Bianchi says the XR4 has a '20 watt power gain' over the
XR2 at 50km/h (31mph). In other words, the power needed to hold 50km/h
on the XR4 is 20 watts lower than the power needed to hold 50km/h on the
XR2. Five watts of that is down to the new Vision Metron 5D combo
handlebar/stem while the frame is said to be worth 15 watts (bear in
mind that even the pro peloton doesn't average 50km/h).

Some high-end aero bikes can flex quite a bit as manufacturers shed
grams but Bianchi hasn't made that mistake here, and this is a
lightweight bike. Our complete 57cm model hit the road.cc
Scales of Truth at 6.53kg (14.4lb). Once you've added pedals, that puts
it round about the UCI's minimum weight limit for racing.

The Oltre XR4 feels superbly efficient around the bottom bracket
despite its low weight. It's a similar story up front where the steering
is excellent, giving you the courage to slam the bike hard into corners
and jump about in a group of riders knowing that you'll end up exactly
where you want to be. No sketchy reactions, no dicey moments, just
fantastic handling whatever the situation.

The Bianchi Oltre XR4 really is a superb bike, picking up where its
predecessors left off. It's lightweight, reactive and very smooth, and
if Bianchi's claims are to be believed, it's highly aerodynamically
efficient too. If you have money in your pockets and racing on your
mind, this is one of the very best.

We reviewed a super high-end version of the Oltre XR4 with a
Campagnolo Super Record groupset and Campag’s Bora Ultra 50 Dark wheels.
There’s no such thing as a cheap Oltre XR4 but complete bikes start at
£4,700.

Why it wins The Oltre is lightweight, quick to react and very, very smooth; this is a superb pro-level race bike